The tech giant only recently bumped up employee wages and started offering hardware discounts

Apple is reportedly laying off retail employees around the world -- including some that were only hired about a month ago.

MacRumors said that many Apple retail employees -- mainly part-time workers in the United Kingdom -- are being laid off after only being recently hired. There have been cuts in the United States and Canada as well.

According to MacRumors, a few different reports pointed out that part-time employees in the UK have been laid off after only working for Apple retail stores anywhere from one month to six months. Some have only just completed their training programs.

In the United States and Canada, employees have had their hours cut back significantly (some to zero). One report indicated that an Apple retail store cut "several hundred hours," leaving only full-time employees on the schedule while the part-time employees were left on stand-by.

So what's going on? There are a couple of different rumors as to why this is occurring. One is that Apple is preparing for the launch of its next-generation iPhone next month as well as the holiday season immediately after. Usually, around product launches and the holidays, hours in Apple retail stores tend to fluctuate a bit. The part-timers may be able to pick up a few more hours around these busier times.

Another rumor is that John Browett, senior vice president of Apple Retail, is behind the whole thing. Those commenting in Apple forums have mentioned Browett's past in regards to his days as CEO at Dixons Retail, where he supposedly flunked as a competent leader. Some commenters called Dixons the worst retailer in the entire UK under Browett's leadership.

"This is the work of John Browett," said one commenter named Sheza. "Classic. He screwed over Dixons, PC World and Curry's, and he will slowly ruin the Apple Retail Store experience too. I guarantee it."

It's unclear what the reason is behind the lay offs, but the recent move contradicts earlier actions set to improve retail employees' working environment. Back in June, Apple boosted employee morale by announcing that it would increase retail store wages by as much as 25 percent in July. It also offered retail employees hardware discounts, where workers can receive price cuts off of certain Apple gadgets like the iPad and certain MacBooks.

The internal review, which led to the increased wages, was led by Browett himself. He found that wage levels were the chief complaint of most Apple employees.

quote: "Now when you're the 6th child of an inner city black family, you don't get the same opportunities as Mitt did when he was a kid. " ever ask your self why does an inner city black person have so many children and not see that might be a problem?

A kid cannot choose his/her parents, as I'm sure he would not have chosen to be in a family of 6 kids living in poverty. You're just going to say "too bad" and let him die?